Reed, Furyk Lead Field at Wyndham Championship in North Carolina in Final Stop Before PGA TOUR’s Four-Event FedExCup Playoffs

Pieters to Defend D+D Real Czech Masters Following 4th Place Finish in Rio

ORLANDO, Fla. (August 15, 2016) – Yesterday’s thrilling conclusion to the Men’s Olympic Golf competition featured Justin Rose (Great Britain) claiming golf’s first gold medal in 112 years after outlasting Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, and this week the Olympic stage in Rio will belong to 60 of the most prominent female golfers in the world who will take part in the Women’s Olympic Golf competition, Wednesday-Saturday, August 17-20. Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand), Brooke Henderson (Canada) and Lexi Thompson (United States) headline the field taking on the same Olympic Golf Course in which the Men’s competition was contested last week. On the PGA TOUR, the Wyndham Championship this week marks the final regular season event of the season ahead of The Barclays next week, which will represent the first of four FedExCup Playoff events which will conclude with the TOUR Championship, September 22-25 in Atlanta. The European Tour stages the D+D Real Czech Masters, with Belgium’s Thomas Pieters set to defend his 2015 title following his 4th place finish in Rio.

Broadcast Notes:Golf Central Live From the Olympics to offer wraparound news, features and analysis: Golf Channel will provide wraparound news coverage, features and analysis immediately prior to and following live coverage of competition play through Golf Central Live From the Olympics. Rich Lerner will host coverage from Rio’s Olympics Golf Course and will be joined by Karen Stupples, as well as Golf Channel’s roster of analysts taking part in the network’s live coverage of the Olympics. Golf Channel insider Rex Hoggard and reporter Todd Lewis also will provide daily reports and offer interviews with Olympic golfers on-site. Anchoring coverage from Golf Channel’s Orlando studios will be Kelly Tilghman, Ryan Burr, Brandel Chamblee, Paige Mackenzie, Jim Gallagher Jr., Tripp Isenhour, and Tim Rosaforte.Olympics Features: Golf Central Live From the Olympics will highlight several features surrounding golf’s return as an Olympic sport. Two features airing over the course of the week include:

How Lydia Ko’s Early Years Positioned Her for Sustained Success: Overwhelming

success at such a young age is what the golf world has become accustomed to with Lydia Ko. For someone with a world of talent and mental strength on the golf course, it begs the question of where that recipe for success originated from. The progression of her game was swift and easily discernable, as demonstrated through exclusive footage of Ko as a young junior golfer, which is being showcased publicly for the first time within the feature. From her days attending the Pinehurst Preparatory School and competing in New Zealand’s biggest amateur tournaments, her pronounced success on the golf course led to a constant need to create new goals in which to strive for.

The Evolution of South Korean Dominance: In recent years, women’s professional

golf has been largely dominated by a growing number of South Korean players. It is a stark contrast to a sport that for years was dominated by American players, and the obvious question to ponder is why? Se Ri Pak’s victory at the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open certainly stands out as a moment in which the current group of South Korean stars point to as the spark that inspired them to achieve similar greatness. The feature examines the cultural and societal influences of a nation that in women’s golf has emphatically separated itself as the model for success.

Format: The Women’s Olympic Golf competition will consist of 60 players (August 17-20), competing in a 72-hole stroke play competition based on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The top-15 players in the official world golf rankings are eligible, with a maximum of four players allowed from a given nation. Outside of the top-15, each nation is allowed a maximum of two players (based on world ranking). If a country has already qualified two or more players within the top-15, additional athletes are not eligible.Headlining the field: Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand), Brooke Henderson (Canada), Lexi Thompson (United States), Inbee Park (Korea), Sei Young Kim, (Korea), Stacy Lewis (United States), Anna Nordqvist (Sweden) and Gerina Piller (United States).

Broadcast Notes:Wyndham Championship the penultimate event with Ryder Cup points up for grabs: The Wyndham Championship is the first of two events remaining before eight members of Davis Love III’s U.S. Ryder Cup Team are finalized through automatic qualifying, based on points earned following The Barclays next week. Three of the four captain’s picks will then be named after the BMW Championship on September 11, and the final captain’s pick will be announced following the Tour Championship on September 25.2016-17 PGA TOUR cards to be awarded to top-125 in FedExCup standings at week’s end: The top-125 players in the FedExCup standings after this week will earn PGA TOUR cards for the 2016-2017 season, and will qualify for the first of four playoff events at The Barclays next week in New York.Headlining the field: Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Jimmy Walker, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, Hideki Matsuyama, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Jon Rahm, Webb Simpson, Bill Haas and Brandt Snedeker.

Broadcast Notes:D+D Real Czech Masters the penultimate event with Ryder Cup points up for grabs: The D+D Real Czech Masters is the first of two events remaining before nine members of Darren Clarke’s European Ryder Cup Team are finalized through automatic qualifying, based on points earned following next week’s event in Denmark. Clarke’s three captain’s picks will then be named the following week on August 29.Pieters defends: Thomas Pieters finished three shots ahead of Pelle Edberg to earn his first career European Tour win.Headlining the field: Lee Westwood, Thomas Pieters, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Andy Sullivan, Robert Karlsson, Victor Dubuisson, Thomas Bjorn, David Horsey, Gary Stal and Oliver Wilson.